To see the new nurbs patch avatar demo, move the mouse to the top left corner of the 3d window and select nurbs patch avatar demo:

The demo shows all the clicks to make a curvy animated avatar out of 3 nurbs patches converted from 3 nurbs lathes.For a beginner NurbsPatches are very intuitive to use because to learn what they are all about all one has to do is drag the control points.To make an animated av there is no need to go past operation 23 (Add eyes) In getting to operation 23, the biggest challenge will be transferring the ownership. There is nothing difficult or complex about any of the concepts used here but it is very easy to make mistakes if one does not pay careful attention to the number of staves and bands used for the 3 patches.

Operation 24 to 27 continues for those who wish to refine their avatar. These operation show how to fuse the arm and leg nurbs patches to the torso so that the limbs join on more smoothly.

Operation 28 to 44 takes the refining further by editing the triangles at the flat stage so that the actual vertices for the arms and legs can be joined to the torso's vertices.

This is perhaps the most important demo I have written yet because it reveals most why seamless3d is designed the way it is and it comes the closest to showing the techniques I used for modelling the seamless avs I made back in 2001.What was the big deal with these seamless avs I made?The triangles were edited at the flat stage (for efficient triangle structures) before being curved into shape using polygon independent surfaces and multiple meshes were tangently joined to create very smooth avatars for real time animation.

Seamless3d has come a long way since then when it was necessary to edit a C++ file. Today we have a GUI to perform all of the necessary functions and with the addition of NURBS the whole process has been greatly simplified.

In addition to the demo I have modified the TransferBCyl node to make it easier to import models from other programs that do not use neat rings of vertices at the joints.The bring to life demo has been updated to take advantage of the new TransferBCyl but the tutorial is yet to be synchronised with it.

I have made it so that if the Alt key is held down while moving a part's pivot point, the children pivot points are not moved.

Thanks much Alain I am sure this tutorial will be of help to others the same as it helped you.I see you have taken a different approach to the robot demo by making the neck and head in separate patches the same way the NurbsLathe av is made. This has the advantage of not needing to understand the TransferVertex node in order to be able to use NurbsPatches and be able to animate the model.I guess one could approach making a nurbs patch av in 101 different ways and each way would have its own advantage. I did spend some time thinking about the different approaches I could have taken and I can not be sure which way is the best way for a beginner.The TransferBCyl for example might be easier for a beginner than a TransferVertex but I think I prefer using a TransferVertex node when the rings are so neatly ordered like they are in seamless.I notice you don't use any CopyParts, I guess they are something else to learn and so avoiding them has its advantages for a beginner but Ep really likes them , also you may not want identical arms and legs and one must remember Micheal Angelo had to chisel each leg and arm out one at a time lol.Just imgine how many more models Micheal Angelo might have created had he lived in the seamless age With the time computers would have saved him he could have made 100s of statues of david and would have had time to animate them all for a movie

http://www.rodin-art.com wrote:During his career, Rodin pulled hundreds of molds from his clay models. He then made plaster casts from these molds, casts that he would sometimes modify. The majority of Rodin’s innovations and refinements involved plaster, the medium he favored not only for experiments and improvements of a work but for first exhibitions in the Paris Salons and gifts to friends and patrons.

Rodin made lots of variations of his model as a means to perfect his art work, I have wanted to do much the same thing using seamless. Using nurbs all one should have to do is make lots of copies and just randomly slightly move the control points and then over time decide which of the variations look best and then work from these repeating the same procedure. It sounds to easy the hard part is knowing which ones are an improvement on the previous and being both persistent and patient.